Martins Sesks

[240RS]

Two superb events in Rally1 machinery! Martins Sesks is hot property and we can't ignore him.

Time to take stock and predict where his WRC journey is likely to lead.

[Dimitris]

I hope for a WRC2 campaign and a few WRC rounds for next year 🙏

[240RS]

Sesks has pulled out of the next ERC round in Italy. Clever move given the question marks surrounding MRF rubber.

[Lead]

Sesks has pulled out of the next ERC round in Italy. Clever move given the question marks surrounding MRF rubber.

I think its more to do with Semenuk crashing his car @ Latvia rally. Not enough time for repairs.

[Jarek Z]

I think its more to do with Semenuk crashing his car @ Latvia rally. Not enough time for repairs.

Sesks has had a very bad season in this year's ERC anway...

[Duvel]

Rest of the season wrc2 whit Fiesta from M sport would be a good start.
Than 2025 mixed program WRC1 And WRC2

[saco0o]

fun to think the "Ott Tanak Future Champ" topic was created in 2011. who knows where Sesks will be in a decade from now! hope with at least one wrc title hehe

[Backa]

I hope for a WRC2 campaign and a few WRC rounds for next year ��

Same hope from me, it makes more sense to continue in WRC2 instead of ERC and gain experience on rallies where he should compete regularly for next decade.

For now, he is not as competitive on tarmac and more technical gravel rallies but there is potential and time to improve.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

As well as his impressive speed at the events in the Puma Rally1 car, his attitude and personality define him as a future star just as much.

He was a dream to interview at stage ends and was able to accept the praise with humility, gratitude and good humour. He also managed to stay relaxed despite enormous attention and expectation at his home rally.

If anyone can attract funding and sponsorship its Martins. I wouldnt be surprised if Malcolm Wilson sees what a great investment he is and finds a way to get him into the M-Sport Puma with some of his own money.

[Jarek Z]

Yes, that's true. It's a pleasure to watch him, not only on the stages, but also in the interviews. Compared to him most WRC drivers seem sad, bored and frustrated, as if somebody forced them to sit in those rally cars. Martins is like a breath of fresh air in WRC.

[Legendaarne]

Reminds me of Petter Solberg for some reason...

[flat_right]

So Sesks shared Colin Clark's story about when will we see him again in Rally1 car... Something is cooking!

https://www.upload.ee/image/16942134/sesks.png

[Rallyest]

Probably Greece like Sesks hinted with his beach post

[saco0o]

hopefully sponsors got happy with the exposure and wants more (or hope more sponsora start to find a way to tale value in wrc. we need more of them)

[Dimitris]

Probably Greece like Sesks hinted with his beach post

He's not doing Acropolis

[EstWRC]

Must be Chile then

[rage82]

Must be Chile then

Might be, it’s another fast rally if I’m not mistaken.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[typhoon]

Sesks is just THE character and the "story to tell the world" that WRC desperately needs. He went viral on social media (on that, huge props to the Promoter's social media manager, did an excellent job!), he's a national hero on the local media (and not just there) and he looks fast on Baltic-Scandinavian-Polish roads.

Hopefully the sponsors will renew their interest on having good exposure and some more will come along to secure him a bigger schedule for 2025.

If we'd have more drivers like him, it would be great for the sport as a whole.

[Backa]

Not sure how household name he is in Latvia but I hope some Sesksmania is there as he needs to rely on local sponsorship for now. If he show he could be ok enough on other types of rallies than fast gravel ones, interests from Toyota, Hyundai or some Red Bull sponsorship to give him M-Sport seat will be more likely.

[saco0o]

sesksmania sounds really good.
gimme more sesks!

[typhoon]

sesksmania sounds really good.
gimme more sesks!

Exactly, just look at the comment section on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1u6lOe_FKI

This is insane!

[AndersX]

Bcs he attracts entirely new group of potential fans - the ones who has grown up with social media etc, he fills the void, the link between hardcore fans and new fans. I would even think he symbolizes that young, highly confident generation - what is the name, Gen Z? This is what happened with Netflix and Drive to survive - F1 become stylish again. Personalities like Sesks would do that job for rallying - not the grumpy 20ish seasoners...

[AE1WRC]

My opinion about Martins so far:
He is a great guy and great driver. He definitely deserves a Rally1 seat. However I am worried that the hype might turn into OVERHYPE by some BS comments in social media. Colin Clark (who I don't take very seriously) told that his first stage wins reminded him the moments Kalle and Ogier had in their early days which is crazy IMO because in their early days KR and Seb already proved they belong at the top level (in every surface) because they dominated the below categories whereas in Sesks case this remains to be seen and I hope he can achieve this. IMO I believe all this hype comes because of his "hollywood" personality. Why we haven't seen the same hype with Sami who also won a stage in his debut with Rally1
? Because he is more laid back (like Kalle).

Again I am not taking anything away from Martins. He is one of the future stars of the sport. However I don't want his career to be considered as Overhyped because of all BS comments.

What do you guys think about this ?

[Jarek Z]

IMO I believe all this hype comes because of his "hollywood" personality. Why we haven't seen the same hype with Sami who also won a stage in his debut with Rally1
? Because he is more laid back (like Kalle).

There was not so much hype about Pajari, because it was Sesks who was the first driver who proved that it is possible to win a stage and be in top 3 in his debut in a Rally1 car. True, Pajari also won a stage, but he was never in top 3 overall. Sesks' debut was simply much more spectacular.

And, of course, his enthusiastic and natural personality only helps :)

[AndersX]

...and sells cars for Msport. Read Dirtfish. I really hope Msport will get some good share of orders for Non-hybrid Puma. That car looks good, drives good and is fast.

[AE1WRC]

There was not so much hype about Pajari, because it was Sesks who was the first driver who proved that it is possible to win a stage and be in top 3 in his debut in a Rally1 car. True, Pajari also won a stage, but he was never in top 3 overall. Sesks' debut was simply much more spectacular.

And, of course, his enthusiastic and natural personality only helps :)


Yes that's right. Sesks did a very good job in both Poland and Latvia. IMO his performance in Poland impressed me the most because to be able to match the big guns in a non hybrid car is impressive (yes I know he had a superior road position advantage but still you have to drive). In Latvia I kind of expected for him to be strong on Friday (with his road position, speed and local knowledge) but Saturday was better since he was battling with two champs Seb and Ott all day long, even with Kalle on Friday but that didn't long much since the golden boy is an alien for real 😀.

[deephouse]

He literally does better than half the grid right now. Why wouldn't it be considered for replacing one of them? On limited seats, it's the only sensible solution. We don't need 1 or 2 dominant drivers and the rest of them are in the 40th or lower places. I would even replace Ogier with some new fresh face. Except if he drove full-time, we would have more real-world stage battles out there (put aside this year). His comments, approach, and attitude are welcoming (we have plenty of constant whining and not being happy all the time). Not many drivers have that, the last one have a horrible crash and is missed for that.

[mknight]

"the grid" is 11 drivers (5 Hyundai, 4 Toyota and 2 MSport).

Seks in his two outings was clearly better than only 3 of them (Munster, Katsuta and Lappi) and Sordo didn't start.

Guess this is the overhype AE1WRC talked about.

[AE1WRC]

"the grid" is 11 drivers (5 Hyundai, 4 Toyota and 2 MSport).

Seks in his two outings was clearly better than only 3 of them (Munster, Katsuta and Lappi) and Sordo didn't start.

Guess this is the overhype AE1WRC talked about.

Fully agreed mknight with your take and also I liked deephouse's perspective on this. However some of the comments about him were like "give him a full time season with Rally1 he will be a champion "(guys remember Lappi 2018 hype and how that ended up?) , Colin Clark in dirtfish videos and in his kitchen table didn't SPECIFICALLY compared him (but more like sounded in his tone) with KR and Seb (I mentioned this already). If that was the case, Clark doesn't know what he is talking about or he is insane��. IMO one of them is the literally the GOAT (I am not a massive Ogier fan but you have to give this guy his credits) and KR is already a top 10 driver of all time in the sport history (HOT TAKE !! but let me know your opinions about this). He (Sesks) definitely is not better than Tanak who was a complete beast in his prime years at Toyota (still today Tanak at his very best is deadly for eg. 2022 Finland) and Neuville and also Evans.

When I do my rankings I really pay attention for the peaks of a driver. Longevity is also important but peak and titles are my priorities (Of course every people rank using different criteria and I totally understand). Note that this ranking I just mentioned is for an all time ranking not a season ranking which would be different.

[mknight]

I am not so much into getting "new" drivers just because someone is "tired" of seeing for example Ogier.

The last few years there have been quite a lot of drivers that showed promising speed in first rallies and then never really improved to regularly fight even for rally wins and sometimes not even podiums and nowhere close any championship change.

Basically since 2017 only Rovanpera "made" it.
Lefevbre, Breen, Suninen, Lappi, Greensmith, Veiby, Loubet, Solberg all failed in some way.

Fourmaux and Solberg are the only work in progress there, can't see the others suddenly changing.

Sesks did great in those two starts, but kicking Ogier who is regularly winning rallies for him is insane idea.

[AE1WRC]

I am not so much into getting "new" drivers just because someone is "tired" of seeing for example Ogier.

The last few years there have been quite a lot of drivers that showed promising speed in first rallies and then never really improved to regularly fight even for rally wins and sometimes not even podiums and nowhere close any championship change.

Basically since 2017 only Rovanpera "made" it.
Lefevbre, Breen, Suninen, Lappi, Greensmith, Veiby, Loubet, Solberg all failed in some way.

Fourmaux and Solberg are the only work in progress there, can't see the others suddenly changing.

Sesks did great in those two starts, but kicking Ogier who is regularly winning rallies for him is insane idea.

I always say this even though Ogier might be annoying sometimes we all should be grateful to watch him both live and from Rallytv because that mf is the master and we saw great battles with him,Neuville,Tanak,Evans (Not so much with Kalle since seb retired from full time where Rovanpera started to be the dominant force in 2022). We saw how hard Neuville and Evans tried but they failed (especially I felt bad for Evans in 2020 Monza but this is rally). Tanak is the only driver to beat seb properly in 2019. Ogier still did a very good job that year by being in the title fight despite driving the dog crap C3 (I never forget how ogier struggled on TARMAC with that car especially in Germany). Now ogier on Tarmac with Toyota is a deadly combination even though Ogier is not in his prime with his speed but he is still a machine which shows how great he is.

[Jarek Z]

I am not so much into getting "new" drivers just because someone is "tired" of seeing for example Ogier.

It's not Ogier, who "should" be replaced...

[bandit12]

But who should he replace then?

[Jarek Z]

But who should he replace then?

How about a Ford driver?

[Negaiss]

86,13 % probility - Sesks in Chile

[AndersX]

Source?

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Mārtiņš Sesks impressions on the aero & hybrid of the Puma Rally1:

https://www.wrcwings.tech/2024/08/19/martins-sesks-impressions-on-the-aero-hybrid-of-the-puma-rally1/

[Backa]

86,13 % probility - Sesks in Chile

Instead of putting random looking number, you could wrote something more concrete.

Personally I am not big fan of Sesks missing tarmac rallies in ERC and planning to do another relatively fast gravel rally. I think we are in era, where all-around drivers will be valued more and more and Martins should try to show he is improving on events, where he was previously not as good.

[mknight]

Mārtiņš Sesks impressions on the aero & hybrid of the Puma Rally1:

https://www.wrcwings.tech/2024/08/19/martins-sesks-impressions-on-the-aero-hybrid-of-the-puma-rally1/

Says hybrid was more difficult to adapt than aero (even on a rally where hybrid matters less).

That kinda confirms what we said after Poland, that driving the non-hybrid Rally1 is likely much easier than for example the 2017-2022 car which had even more aero and even more fancy adjustable diffs.

[deephouse]

I know it's a completely different series, but looking at this year's World RX where there are cars with EV and ICE powertrains together racing side by side. EVs are not spectacular at all, all they are good at is just their fast torque. And that's it. ICE cars are better in every aspect. I know that hybrids are completely different, but we saw Sesks being up there, not far by much without that technology. I believe that a Rally1 car without a hybrid and a little more power or in the right hands, could beat a full Rally1 car with a hybrid on.

[becher]

I know it's a completely different series, but looking at this year's World RX where there are cars with EV and ICE powertrains together racing side by side. EVs are not spectacular at all, all they are good at is just their fast torque. And that's it. ICE cars are better in every aspect. I know that hybrids are completely different, but we saw Sesks being up there, not far by much without that technology. I believe that a Rally1 car without a hybrid and a little more power or in the right hands, could beat a full Rally1 car with a hybrid on.

I'd argue a Rally1 without the CD unit and no ballast would be faster already.

[mknight]

I know it's a completely different series, but looking at this year's World RX where there are cars with EV and ICE powertrains together racing side by side. EVs are not spectacular at all, all they are good at is just their fast torque. And that's it. ICE cars are better in every aspect. I know that hybrids are completely different, but we saw Sesks being up there, not far by much without that technology. I believe that a Rally1 car without a hybrid and a little more power or in the right hands, could beat a full Rally1 car with a hybrid on.

What an argument.
" A car with more power and less weight can defeat a heavier car".
No shit Sherlock.

As a reminder the current Rally1 hybrid is by no means the best and fastest possible hybrid powertrain you can get. It is a very constrained FIA construct with the main goal of sounding and driving as similar as non hybrid as possible. Just like the last WRC was not the very best and fastest petrol car possible but something also limited by rules.

[EstWRC]

Confirmed for chile

https://x.com/msportltd/status/1828311486118175048?s=46&t=AWria8OgC1kV5QC61vX5Xg

[Negaiss]

100,00% Probability Sesks in Chile - - - - https://www.go4speed.lv/lv/news/wrc/12786-oficiali-sesks-francis-startes-ciles-wrc/

[240RS]

Confirmed for chile

https://x.com/msportltd/status/1828311486118175048?s=46&t=AWria8OgC1kV5QC61vX5Xg

The roads in Chile were very abrasive last year. Extra power here was actually a tyre liability. Sesks, if patient, could benefit should the Hybrids experience the same.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

The roads in Chile were very abrasive last year. Extra power here was actually a tyre liability. Sesks, if patient, could benefit should the Hybrids experience the same.

Sesks says it will be a challenge due to never having done the rally before and the non-hybrid car having less power for the high altitude...

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/sesks-gets-another-rally1-chance-at-rally-chile/

[240RS]

Martins was out testing today.

Muddy stuff. Wonder how relevant to Chile this will be. Giving him some valuable seat time may well be what the test was intended for.

https://x.com/msesks

[Managarium]

He will be in Rallye de Tierra Ciudad de Granada.

He will be driving Fiesta Rally2.

Also he is holding Red Bull can in a hand in a photo... :stare:

Possibly next season Puma Rally1? :lips:

https://4rati.lv/rallijs/rallijs-pasaule/seska-franca-ekipaza-pirms-ciles-wrc-posma-startes-grants-rallija-spanija/

[saco0o]

castrol sponsors msport too, right? jeez, if they could get sesks and ingran on a redbull/castrol team for 2025 i'd even pay for rallytv again, honestly haha even with them not fighting for the title. put pajari in the toyota and oli on the 3rd hyundai then i'd be happy again! =P

[macebig]

Sesks will probably be in a Puma next year, but I can't see him doing the full season, unless Fourmaux jumps and M-Sport can't sign anyone more experienced.

[sindroms]

Also he is holding Red Bull can in a hand in a photo... :stare:

Possibly next season Puma Rally1? :lips:

https://4rati.lv/rallijs/rallijs-pasaule/seska-franca-ekipaza-pirms-ciles-wrc-posma-startes-grants-rallija-spanija/

There is nothing unusual he is one of Red Bull athletes for years.

[Managarium]

Sesks will probably be in a Puma next year, but I can't see him doing the full season, unless Fourmaux jumps and M-Sport can't sign anyone more experienced.

I think that he would be better then Munster.


There is nothing unusual he is one of Red Bull athletes for years.

I didn't know that. you don't see him with any Red Bull logos, including helmet.

[Jarek Z]

He will be in Rallye de Tierra Ciudad de Granada.

He will be driving Fiesta Rally2.

Entry list:
https://www.ewrc-results.com/entries/86915-rally-ciudad-de-granada-2024/

[Jarek Z]

Martins Sesks is 3rd overall and 2nd in Rally2:
https://www.ewrc-results.com/results/86915-rally-ciudad-de-granada-2024/?s=472291

[TypeR]

Martins Sesks is 3rd overall and 2nd in Rally2:
https://www.ewrc-results.com/results/86915-rally-ciudad-de-granada-2024/?s=472291
Nice battle between him and Heikkila! Both driving new cars - Sesks with Fiesta rally2(with M-Sport support) and Heikkila with Skoda rally2.

[AndersX]

Nice battle between him and Heikkila! Both driving new cars - Sesks with Fiesta rally2(with M-Sport support) and Heikkila with Skoda rally2.

Heikkila has been driving Skodas before Toyota. But Sesks ability to be fast and stabile with any car he gets in hands is very impressive - within a year - Skoda, Toyota, Puma 1-, Puma 1 HY and now Fiesta 2. And I hope Heikkila will get some good drive by some R2 team - he is an interesting guy.

Btw, wasn't Sesks on MRF tires in this event? I think i saw MRF logo on the car.

[Us44]

Yes he was driving MRF

[Jarek Z]

Thierry Neuville didn't enter parc ferme. Sesks moves to the second place. Heikkila wins the rally.

[saco0o]

Thierry Neuville didn't enter parc ferme. Sesks moves to the second place. Heikkila wins the rally.

what does that mean? is this rally 'open'? like, could thierry win the event on the rally1 car?
Sesks on a grey fiesta, I have not seeing it yet. Third car on the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=063_R1eg2DQ&

[TypeR]

It isn't rare that top teams do so.. No official finish, no chance of getting the car ,,taken apart''..
Mostly because maybe they are testing some not homologated parts etc.. all stages done and DNF is faster and easier for the whole team.

[Jarek Z]

what does that mean? is this rally 'open'? like, could thierry win the event on the rally1 car?

It was a round of Spanish Gravel Cup. I don't know if this championship is open. You would have to ask someone from Spain.

Like TypeR said, works teams sometimes do such tricks, when they test something in a lower level event.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Reports suggest that Neuville just didnt want to take Heikkila's glory and win on what was just a test for Chile for the i20 Rally1.